


Close to the Edge

by Mack_the_Spoon, Namarie



Series: Bloodlines [3]
Category: The Blacklist (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Supernatural Elements, F/M, Future Fic, Gen, pre-Liz/Ressler
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-04-20
Updated: 2015-04-21
Packaged: 2018-03-24 23:33:27
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 6
Words: 20,049
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3788458
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Mack_the_Spoon/pseuds/Mack_the_Spoon, https://archiveofourown.org/users/Namarie/pseuds/Namarie
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Liz and Ressler find out just how difficult it is to maintain a secret of this magnitude.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> This takes place in the same universe as both of our 'Bloodlines' series. It follows "All The Honesty I've Lost" and "Flying Ahead of the Light", although it references the other stories in both series, as well.
> 
> We swapped editing duties between us.
> 
> No copyright infringement intended.

It happened so suddenly, Liz was caught completely off guard. They were in the middle of a case – only tangentially related to any Blacklister – and she and Ressler were questioning a possible witness. The girl couldn't have been older than twenty. Her name was Whitney Lam, and she happened to live in the apartment next door to the address they had for the man they were tracking.

The interview went fairly normally until the end. Liz thought she'd noticed the girl staring at her a few times while they spoke, but dismissed it as nothing. And then as the two of them turned to leave, Whitney blurted out, “Is this part of your territory?”

Liz carefully did not look at Ressler as she turned around. “I'm sorry?”

“I know your partner knows about you. Don't worry – I wouldn't tell anyone, anyway.” She smiled shyly. “I was just curious if I lived in your territory. I have to admit, I never thought about it before. I mean, I never really believed the stories until I saw you.”

“What are you talking about?” asked Liz. Her heart was beating faster now, and she could sense that Ressler was very alert, as well.

“My grandparents were from Hong Kong. I've never even left the US, but my grandfather used to tell me stories about the dragon he worked for in China, when he was young,” Whitney said.

Liz blinked. She had no idea how this girl could have guessed, but it was dangerous for her to be talking like this. She knew some dragons of her acquaintance would probably waste no time hypnotizing her to find out what she knew, and then erasing that knowledge. “Ms. Lam, it's probably best for everyone if my partner and I just leave now. That way no one gets into any trouble.”

Whitney frowned. “Trouble? You mean, like, erasing my memories? I don't think you can. Or any other dragon, either. My grandfather said our family is special. Dragons can't affect our minds like they can for other humans. And I guess that's how I can tell you're a dragon – I could just sense it, like he said he could. Dad always said it was just stories.” She smiled again. “But I guess it was real, after all.”

This possibility was news to Liz. It sounded like how people with some dragon ancestry, but not enough to be dragons themselves, could resist being hypnotized. But she had never heard of any human being able to just sense dragons. Now she glanced at Ressler. Though his expression showed only mild confusion, she could tell he was nearly as surprised as she was.

There was no chance she was leaving now. Liz went back to where she had been sitting at the girl's small kitchen table, with Ressler following suit. “I have to admit, you startled me, Whitney. I've never heard of anyone who can sense whether someone is a dragon. Your grandfather probably told you that we tend to keep it a secret.”

Whitney nodded. “So, you really are?”

“I am,” Liz said. “And you're right, my partner does know. But most people I talk to and interact with don't.”

“Wow,” Whitney said. She shook her head. “That's really cool.”

Liz smiled at the awe in her tone, though it also made her feel a bit embarrassed. “I guess I can also tell you that your apartment happens to be outside of any dragon's territory. But mine is nearby.” She didn't mention Red's. She still wasn't sure how much she'd be telling this girl. There was still the option of trying to hypnotize her, anyway, and then not having to worry about it. On the other hand, she thought that might not necessarily be the best strategy – quite apart from the fact that she disliked messing with people's minds.

“And do you work for her? Like my grandfather did for Lin Wei Chang?” Whitney turned to Ressler.

“Something like that,” said Ressler.

Whitney turned back to Liz. “Do you have any job openings?”

Liz was brought up short once again. Never had she imagined someone asking to work for her, in her capacity as a member of dragon society. She cleared her throat. “I tell you what: Agent Ressler and I need to solve this case right now. But I'll leave you my card, and let me get your phone number, too. Let's talk again.”

“Great,” said Whitney. She stood up and found a piece of paper to write down her number, then handed it to Liz.

Liz pocketed the information, and gave the girl her card. “Thank you. For now, I'm going to ask you not to call unless it's about the case, all right?”

“Sure,” said Whitney, nodding.

“And please don't tell anyone about this part of what we talked about,” she said, standing. “It's very important, for your own safety.”

“I understand,” she said, standing to go with them to the door. “It was nice to meet you, Agent Keen. And Agent Ressler.”

As they left, Liz wondered if she was really doing the girl a favor by letting the matter stand as it was. Though it was clear that she did have some idea of the stakes involved, to her, it was all fairy tales from her grandfather that had suddenly come true. There was no way she actually grasped how serious this could be.

“Do you think she's safe?” Ressler asked, unconsciously echoing her own thoughts.

Liz sighed, pushing open the front door to the building. “I don't know. I hope so. I'm probably going to have to talk to Red about this, as long as I can figure out a way to do it that doesn't involve him deciding to take matters into his own hands.”

Ressler scoffed. “So you're not putting much stock in her story about being, what, genetically protected from dragon interrogation? It sounds like it might be too many generations for it to still be true for her, anyway.”

Liz frowned. “I'd like to think that no matter what is true or untrue about her story, Red wouldn't interrogate a girl Whitney's age.” He didn't answer, and she hadn't expected him to. They got into the car. “But like I said, I'll be cautious about it, however I do end up telling him. And I can't decide whether I should have someone watch her apartment, or whether that would just draw attention to her.”

“You want me to get someone to check on her a couple of times a day, at least?” Ressler suggested.

She thought about it. “Yeah. Whoever you think is the most discreet. And don't say anything about why.”

“All right,” said Ressler.

“There's always something new, isn't there?” she said, after a few minutes of silence.

“Makes life interesting,” was Ressler's response.

She smiled. “That is definitely true.” But then, once Red had come into her life, even before she'd found out she was a creature she'd thought was just a myth, her life had almost never approached anything she could have called boring. Raymond Reddington was practically the embodiment of that supposed Chinese curse, “May you live in interesting times.” Which he would probably take as a compliment.

“You ever heard of this dragon the girl was talking about?” Ressler asked.

“No,” she said. “I'm kind of hoping he wasn't – or isn't – some kind of Triad leader, or anything. Otherwise, I'm concerned about what Whitney might think I'd hire her to do. I realize that's jumping to conclusions, but considering what most dragons I know of do with their time...” Even Liz was hardly free of ties to organized crime, though crime was not what she did with her organization.

“I'd say that's a fair point,” Ressler said. Then, speaking reluctantly, like he might be worried he was offending her, he went on, “Do you think that whole dragon tradition in China, and in other Asian countries I guess, came from interactions with real dragons?”

Liz shrugged. “I guess it seems too big of a coincidence, otherwise. But who knows?” After two years of getting used to this, that kind of idea didn't make her as uncomfortable as it once did. That was mostly because she had realized she wasn't going to get much in the way of answers. It wasn't like there was any kind of written draconic history to consult, or anything.

“Yeah. It's just... I never thought about what it would be like, for people who have that kind of a tradition, to actually meet a dragon.”

“Me, neither,” she said. She wondered to what extent this Lin Wei Chang might have taken advantage of that.

Later, at home, Ressler came over to inform her that there was a guard on Whitney Lam's house. “Good. I was just about to call Red about her.”

“You thought about how you're going to bring it up?”

“I'm going to ask if he's ever heard of a human with telepathic abilities,” she said. “That's my only explanation for how Whitney could have known I'm a dragon. I'm not sure it's true, but I figured it would work as a way to get started.”

When she asked Red about it, there was a long pause on the other end of the phone. “I can't think of a reason this would be a hypothetical question. What happened?”

“Nothing,” she said. “Well, nothing definitive. I just thought I noticed something today, while Ressler and I were canvassing for witnesses.”

“And you knew it wasn't another dragon?”

“I'm pretty sure it wasn't, yeah,” she said. “We were outside any territory boundary I know of.” This piece of information was a calculated risk, since there weren't a whole lot of those areas nearby. But she didn't want him to go into any kind of protective mode.

“I see,” he said. “Well, this is far too interesting of a conversation to have over the phone. Are you at home?”

“Yes. Ressler's here, too.”

“Excellent. I'll be there in fifteen minutes.” He hung up.

“So he's on his way, I take it,” said Ressler.

She nodded. “And of course, he didn't actually answer my question.”

Exactly on time, there was a knock on the door. Liz stood and peered out of the peep hole, then opened the door for Red and Dembe. “Come in.”

“Thank you,” said Red. “I'm afraid I didn't bring anything with me this time. I was tied up until right after you called, and I didn't want to keep you waiting.”

Liz raised her eyebrows. “That's fine. I have beer in the fridge. Anyone want some?”

Ressler and Dembe asked for some, and Red went along with them when he saw that everyone else was indulging. Liz had heard his opinion on most American beers before, but he seemed to grudgingly approve of the microbrew she'd bought on her last trip to the store.

“So. Telepathy in humans,” he said, once they were all sitting down. “What, exactly, makes you think it's a possibility?”

“It's more of a hunch,” she told him, seeing that he was still not going to answer her original question yet. “No one actually spoke to me telepathically, or indicated that they heard me. But I think I could feel someone, and like I said, it didn't feel like it was a dragon.”

Red didn't speak right away. “I can't say that I've ever had the same experience,” he finally said. “I'd be tempted to think it was some dragon, trying not to be noticed, but it must have been particularly inept if so, since you found this presence so noteworthy. And I have heard rumors of the very rare human with some capability in telepathy.”

“What have you heard?” She set down her drink.

“Very little,” he admitted. “Some of it was pure speculation – that there was no reason the ability should not exist in humans, since it exists at all. I'm not sure I accept that logic. However, there has been some discussion of more substance, about a few families here and there with no record of draconic blood who nevertheless knew when a dragon was coming and also weren't vulnerable to the usual interrogation methods.”

That did sound like what they were dealing with. “So these families supposedly knew about dragons?”

“Apparently,” he said. “Which means that if these rumors are connected to what you noticed today, we may have a situation on our hands.”

“I guess,” said Liz, doing her best to balance her tone so that she didn't sound like she'd already decided it wasn't a problem. “I didn't get the feeling this person meant any harm.”

“Perhaps not. Do you know which of these potential witnesses whose homes you visited today might be the one in question?”

Liz resisted the urge to take a drink. That might look shifty at this moment. “I have an idea. I put a watch on the apartment building, just to see if anything interesting happens in the next few days.”

Red sat back, a faint smile on his face. “I'm sure I don't need to point out that if these rumors are true, it would take very little effort to narrow it down, if your list is short. Whoever isn't affected by an attempt at hypnosis would of necessity be the one.”

“Right,” she said. Then she did take a drink. “Are you saying you want me to prioritize this? I'd rather wait and see, while Ressler and I are on this case. We don't even know if this is going to turn out to be anything. And I can tell you right now that my list of potential suspects doesn't include anyone I'd normally consider a threat.”

“Well, naturally, it would be unlikely that this person could be a direct threat to you or me,” Red said, with a nod. He regarded her for a moment. “But you want to see how this plays out.”

“Yes.” Thus far, she had stuck mostly to the truth with him, which made it easier. She knew better than to try to lie outright to him, much as it galled her that he could read her so well.

“I can understand the desire to learn more about the situation before acting,” he said. “Then I'll simply request to be kept in the loop when you do learn anything more.”

“I will,” she said.

He and Dembe left soon afterward. Ressler waited until they had been gone for a few minutes to say, “I get the impression Reddington knows there's more to it than what you told him.”

“Of course he does,” she sighed, finishing her beer. “But I also think he will leave it alone, for at least a little while. So we should make sure we solve this case soon, and then we can find out more about what Whitney knows before Red gets impatient and does it his way. Whatever that would be.”

“Honestly, I don't know how you can handle it,” Ressler said, tossing back the last of his bottle. “It's like he can't believe anyone could possibly know better than him about anything.”

Liz laughed dryly. “That's exactly it. And it's especially infuriating that he really is usually right, especially about things to do with the dragon world.” She stood and gestured for him to hand her his empty bottle. As she took them to the recycling bin, along with the other two, she added, “But I'm making it my goal to force him to back off whenever I can. Even if it's just something small.”

“And is that working?”

She didn't blame him for his skeptical tone. “I think so. Gradually.” She came back into the living room and sat down heavily. “Probably really gradually.” In her more paranoid moments, she imagined that every time Red seemed to give in, even over the smallest issue, he was only letting her think she'd won. But that was too depressing an alternative to ponder for long. And she did genuinely think that was unfair to the man. She didn't doubt that he cared about her.

Ressler gave her a sympathetic look. “Well. You're the only one I can imagine it working for at all. So there's that.”

She laughed again, this time with more humor. “Thanks. Great pep talk, Ressler.”

He smiled back. “I do what I can.” Then he got to his feet. “I should let you get some sleep.”

“Good night,” she said, walking with him to the door.

“Thanks for the beer,” he said.

“You're welcome.” She realized her hand was resting on his arm, and moved it off. The blush that followed was totally involuntary, and she ducked her head, irritated with herself.

Ressler cleared his throat, then bid her good night and left. Liz shut the door and ran a hand through her hair. Where had that even come from? No, she wouldn't delude herself enough to ask that question. But she didn't remember deciding to casually touch him. That was what bothered her. Ressler, on the other hand, probably thought she was embarrassed to have displayed even that much physical affection.

Scoffing at herself, Liz went back to her fridge and got out the second-to-last beer. She opened it, sat down in front of the TV, and turned it on, in an attempt to get her mind to turn off. It took much longer than she would have liked, but hours later she finally wound down enough to go to bed.

~~~~~~

The man watching Whitney Lam's apartment reported that she made no unusual movements and received no alarming visitors for the next few days. Meanwhile, it was actually Aram who made the break in their case. It was the connection he found between their suspect's company and the victim that led directly to the man's arrest.

As she was finishing paperwork for the day, Liz's phone rang. She didn't immediately recognize the number, but she answered. “Keen.”

“Agent Keen, this is Whitney Lam. I – I know what you said when we talked, but I just needed to tell someone. I needed to tell you.”

“What is it?” The girl sounded scared, and Liz stood up automatically, starting to gather her things.

“There was another one. Like – like you. He was close. I didn't see him, but I think I saw his car drive by,” said Whitney. “I mean, I think that was the car he was in.”

Liz swallowed. “What did the car look like?”

“It was black. I didn't see it very well, sorry,” she said.

It could have been Red. If so, Whitney wasn't in as much danger as if it was some unknown dragon. She didn't want to think anyone else would have been able to find out that there even was anything to find out about Whitney. But there was no way for her to know from the small amount of information she had thus far, anyway. _Ressler,_ she said, _can you check in with the watch on Whitney Lam again?_ Then, out loud, she said, “You're probably fine, but stay inside your apartment until I get there. I'm on my way.”

When she found Ressler, he was still on the phone. “Has he seen anyone?” she said in a low voice.

Ressler nodded, and then hung up a minute later. “He said he thought he saw Reddington, although he wouldn't swear it was his car.”

“So Red was, what, just passing through?”

“If it was him,” said Ressler. “How did you know?”

“Whitney called me. She felt another dragon nearby, although she never saw him,” Liz explained. “But she did say she thought he might have passed by in a black car.”

“Ah. Then I'm guessing you want to go,” he said.

“Exactly,” she said.

“Agent Keen, where are you headed?” It was Cooper.

“I just got a call from one of Rick Glover's neighbors that we interviewed before,” she told him. “She said she thought she heard something from his apartment just now.”

“And she didn't call the police? Glover is in custody,” said Cooper.

“I know that, sir, and now she does, too,” Liz said. “As far as I know, she didn't call the police. It might be nothing. But I thought, in the spirit of making sure all the loose ends are tied up, I might as well check it out.”

“Fine,” he agreed. “But don't waste your time if it turns out to be nothing.”

 _I'd better go by myself,_ she told Ressler silently. _Cooper definitely wouldn't want both of us on this. Catch up when it makes sense._ Of course, if Red was still around, there was not even the tiniest chance he wouldn't notice two FBI SUVs parked outside Whitney's building. But that couldn't be helped. If Red was around, the game was up, anyway.

She could feel Ressler's eyes on her as she left, and she knew he was nervous about letting her go into an uncertain situation without backup. Yet, quite apart from Cooper not wanting to send two agents to investigate in this situation, they had both agreed early on that they would try not to attract attention to themselves as a pair. They didn't want to change the team dynamic, for one thing. And Liz felt like there were already enough rumors about her because of Red. Less gossip was to be preferred. So the less she and Ressler could be seen to be always doing things together, the less anyone would have reason to be suspicious or curious – and overhear or see something they shouldn't.

That meant that Liz set off alone to Whitney's apartment, and kept alert. She couldn't sense any sign of Red as she pulled up in front of the building, or any other dragon. But she could find Whitney, though as usual with non-dragon minds hers wasn't as easy to pinpoint.

Whitney opened her door before Liz had even knocked. “Thanks for coming, Agent Keen. I'm sorry, I just kind of freaked out.” She ushered her in and closed and locked the door behind her. “I'd already been thinking about it, and I realized that if my grandfather's stories about Lin Wei Chang were really true, that meant dragons could still be dangerous even if they can't read my mind, or whatever.”

“That's true,” said Liz.

“And that was before I – I sensed the other dragon today,” she said. “Like I said, he never got close. But that made me realize I had no idea what I'd do if he did.”

“I have an idea of who it could have been. If I'm right, the danger was probably minimal,” she said. Then she sighed. “Either way, what you felt makes it even more important that we have that talk.”

“Okay,” Whitney said, then sat down at her table and invited Liz to do the same.

“What did your grandfather do for this dragon, exactly?” Liz asked, holding her breath.

“All kinds of things,” said Whitney. “He was mostly a bodyguard, though. Or at least that's what most of my grandfather's stories were about.” She smiled suddenly. “Don't worry – that's not what I'd ask to do for you. I'm not exactly bodyguard material.”

“And I already have one,” Liz said, but she mirrored the girl's smile. She hadn't actually thought Whitney had that idea.

“Right.” There was a knock at the door. Whitney looked startled.

“I think that's Agent Ressler now,” Liz said. He had arrived faster than she'd thought. “But check through the peephole, just in case.”

It was him, and he looked relieved to meet her eyes when Whitney let him in. “Did I miss anything too important?”

“Whitney was just going to tell me what she had in mind for a job,” Liz said.

“Don't let me interrupt,” said Ressler. He sat down next to Liz.

“Okay. Um, so do you just work at the FBI, or do you have another business?”

“I don't just work at the FBI,” said Liz. Again, she braced herself in case she was going to have to tell Whitney that she wasn't looking for certain services that other dragons might want. Oh, God, if that was where this was going, she could easily imagine Red swooping in and hiring her, instead – and wouldn't that be just the icing on the cake, if it was indeed her father who had been sniffing around?

“Well, if it's the kind of business that you need an accountant for, that's what I studied in college. And I have references. If you already have someone for that, I get it. But I'm also pretty good at tracking other people's money usage, if that would be, um, useful.”

Liz exchanged glances with Ressler. It was clear that this last part was more in line with the less legal activities dragons seemed to prefer. On the other hand... “I actually only have temporary accounting help at this point,” Liz said. “Let me give you the web address for the organization I'm putting my efforts into currently. There should be a link where you can send your references and a cover sheet, if you have one.” She wasn't going to deny that having someone working for her – not Red, or the FBI, but her personally – who had the skills Whitney was broadly hinting at could come in handy someday.

Whitney looked pleased. “Great!”

Liz wrote down the web address on a piece of paper Whitney found for her. Then she swallowed and met the girl's eyes. This interaction, though a first step, might not be enough if Whitney was in danger from another dragon. “Now, if it's all right with you, since I can say I'm interested in hiring you, I can also start to protect you from anyone else's unwanted attention.”

The girl's eyes widened. “You can? Even though nothing's official yet?”

“If you want me to,” said Liz.

“Yeah, I mean, I think I'd feel better.”

Liz fought the urge to say, “I wouldn't be so sure.” Instead, she nodded. “Then I'll warn you from the beginning: the first thing I need to do is test to make sure what you said about your family's resistance to dragons tampering with your mind is accurate. I won't hurt you – I won't do anything, even if I could – but I think we should be sure.”

Whitney blinked. “Oh. Yeah. I guess that makes sense. What do I do?”

“You don't have to do anything. Just look at me.” Once she had, Liz took a deep breath and reached for the mental power that was waiting. But when she tried to use it to look into Whitney's mind, it was like the energy slid out of her grasp and she was left with nothing. “Huh.” She tried again, with the exact same result. It wasn't like anything she'd experienced before. “Well. That's that. You do seem to be safe from that kind of tampering.”

“Are you sure? I didn't even notice you doing anything,” said Whitney.

“That's because I couldn't,” Liz told her, allowing her surprise to show. “I've never felt anything like that. It's quite the gift, that your family has.”

Whitney gave another shy smile. “Thanks.” Then she shifted in her seat. “You said that was just the first thing, though. What else is there?”

It seemed obvious to Liz that any of the other usual mental safeguards a dragon could give a lieutenant or member of her organization were neither viable nor necessary here. “Not much. If you come in contact with another dragon, and you feel threatened, you can definitely tell him or her that you work for me. That should work in most cases. But in case it doesn't... let me try one more thing.” She made sure Ressler would hear, too, then asked silently, _I'm just guessing here. This might be crazy. But can you talk to me like this?_

Whitney's eyes were huge as she stared back at Liz. “I don't...”

 _Try it. Maybe I'm wrong,_ Liz encouraged her.

_Do... do you hear me?_

Liz exhaled. _Yeah, I heard that. I thought you'd have to be telepathic._ “Did you hear it, Ressler?”

Ressler nodded, looking dumbfounded. He cleared his throat. “Just so you know, Whitney, I can't do that. I don't know any human who can.”

Whitney covered her mouth with her hands. “Oh my God.”

“I'm sorry,” said Liz. “I didn't mean to scare you.” She could sympathize with the girl's astonishment. It was a lot to take in.

“No, it's not your fault,” Whitney said quickly. “I just... my grandfather never mentioned that.”

“He might have been right not to,” Liz said. “If I were you, I'd keep it a secret, as much as you can. But if you're ever in trouble, now you have another way to call me. That's what I was getting at.”

“I see,” said Whitney. “Wow. Um. Okay.” She still seemed stunned, but just as Liz was trying to find another way to apologize – not that there were words that were right for blowing someone's whole worldview out of the water – the young woman shook her head and said, “Thank you, Agent Keen. I mean, you could have told me I was crazy back when we first talked. You could have ignored me. So thanks for – for not doing that.”

“You're welcome,” Liz said. “Honestly, I was probably as curious about you as you were about me.”

Whitney laughed. “Well, I'm glad, anyway. My grandfather passed away a few years ago, but I think he'd be proud.”

Liz and Ressler left a few minutes later, and Liz waited only until they were outside the building to say, “That was surreal. You saw that – and heard that, right? It wasn't all some kind of hallucination?”

“Not unless we're having the same bad trip,” Ressler said, shaking his head.

“So now I'm on my way to having a full-time accountant and possible part-time... financial hacker, or whatever, on my payroll,” said Liz, “who also happens to be a human telepath. And I still need to know who else was coming around. Maybe I should have asked Whitney to move into my territory, but I felt bad about throwing that on top of her after everything else.”

“I don't know,” said Ressler, his tone reflective. “She might have taken it in stride.”

“Yeah, maybe,” Liz agreed. “Remind me to sit down with her soon and get as many of her grandfather's stories as I can. I'd like to know what she knows and expects.”

“At least she didn't seem too thrown by the idea of working for a legitimate organization,” Ressler said. They had reached their cars, and he took out his keys. “Home?”

Liz nodded. “Oh, and I still want this place watched.”

“I figured,” Ressler said. “He'll stay until I tell him otherwise.”

Just as she was about to get in the driver's seat, her phone buzzed. “It's Red,” she told her partner before answering.

“Lizzie, I was wondering if you'd had the chance to narrow down that list of potential human telepaths,” was his opening salvo.

It was time to find out how well she'd protected Whitney by this point. “I have, actually. Ressler and I are outside her apartment right now. We just talked to her.”

There was a slight pause. “Would that be the Sunny Creek Heights apartment building, by chance? Not that it's a particularly sunny location, nor are there any creeks around.”

Evidently he had decided to show his hand, too. “So it was you who she sensed earlier?”

“Yes,” he said.

“Did you know that she'd sensed you? And that she freaked out and called me?”

“I wasn't sure whether she noticed me, but I assumed that if she had, she might contact you. I had gathered that you and she had already talked about more than just your case,” he said.

“Okay. You also know I told you I'd keep you in the loop,” she said. “So what's with the drive-by?”

“Curiosity. I wanted to know what I could sense,” he said simply. “There wasn't much, which was unexpected enough. I wasn't even sure it was a woman until I heard which pronoun you used just now.”

Liz didn't doubt that this was part of the explanation, but probably not all of it. “So what now? If I promise to introduce you to her soon, will you leave her alone?”

Red's voice sounded surprised now, and possibly pleased. “Your conversation with her today was very fruitful, I take it?”

She sighed. “Yes, she's going to work for me, all right? Now, are you going to make me come out and say I'm warning you off, or what?”

“No, of course not,” Red replied. “But I will hold you to that introduction. I'm dying to hear more.”

“Uh huh,” said Liz. “Good night, Red.” She hung up before he could say anything else.

Ressler had heard her side of the call, of course, and he blew out a breath when she put her phone away. “So Reddington's not going to try to argue with your claim?”

“Apparently not. I'm glad at least it wasn't an unknown dragon. Although I have no idea how to prepare Whitney to meet my father.”

“It doesn't have to be tonight, or anything, does it?” His tone of gloom at the idea would have been funny if Liz hadn't been so irritated with Red, herself.

“Definitely not,” said Liz. “Red got me to admit I'm hiring her. That should be enough for him for now. At least he can trust that she has reason not to talk about dragons to anyone he doesn't know.” Then she rubbed her hands over her face. “And now I'd really like to spend the rest of the day doing something that has nothing to do with dragons. If that's possible.”

Ressler laughed. “If you're counting on nothing at all to do with dragons, I think you're out of luck.”

She rolled her eyes. “Sure, if you want to get technical.”

They ended up getting takeout and watching a movie on Netflix in Ressler's apartment. It was an action movie that didn't require a lot of thought, but it was entertaining and she was able to not think about dragon politics for at least a few hours. Ressler seemed to be enjoying himself, too. They both needed this.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Just a quick apology if the name of the Chinese dragon doesn't make sense - I did do a little research to find something that worked, so I hope it does, and that I don't sound too ignorant.


	2. Chapter 2

~~~~~~

When the movie ended, Liz sat up and stretched. She looked over and saw that her partner was asleep, his head leaning on the back of the couch. She smiled. She didn't remember when he'd fallen asleep, but he must have needed it.

Quietly, she stood up and took the garbage from the meal into his kitchen to throw them out. When she straightened up from the trash can, Ressler was standing a few feet away. “You didn't have to do that. I can take care of it,” he said.

“Yeah. But you were asleep, and I thought if I was going to slip out, I might as well clean up after myself first.”

He cleared his throat. “You don't have to slip out, either. Stay.”

Liz blinked. She opened her mouth to tell him one of a dozen logical reasons that wasn't a good idea, and then he was even closer to her, and his hand was on her cheek. So instead, her heart pounding, she said, “You want me to stay.”

“Yeah. What do you want, Liz?” His voice was husky.

“I want that, too,” she decided, and kissed him.

He was enthusiastic in his response, and immediately started to lead her toward the bedroom. Her hands were at the hem of his dress shirt before they even reached the doorway, and they were both breathless. But when she pulled the shirt open, she froze.

“Liz, what's wrong?” His voice was genuinely puzzled.

“I – what's – Why are you –?” She couldn't get any words out. There was a pattern of scales in the center of his chest. They glinted copper in the low light of his hallway.

“I thought you wanted this.” Now he sounded disappointed, angry.

“I can't,” she gasped, horrified, and then she glanced down at herself as a strange sensation passed through her limbs. Her hands had turned into dragon claws, and they were dripping with blood. “No!” This didn't make sense. None of it made sense.

“Liz! Wake up!”

She sat up suddenly. The TV was off, and Ressler was standing in front of her with a concerned expression on his face. Quickly, she glanced down at herself. Of course no part of her was transformed. And of course Ressler was fine – and all his clothes were still on.

“Are you okay?” he asked. “You fell asleep, but then you seemed like you were maybe having a nightmare.”

She rubbed her eyes. “Yeah. Sorry. I'm fine.” She hoped he wouldn't notice the faint blush that she could feel on her cheeks when she remembered the beginning of the dream. But she didn't want to imagine where it had been heading. By the end, it had been the weirdest dream she'd had since – then she went cold and stood up so fast she almost fell. “Shit. What's the date today?”

“July 23rd,” he told her, with a frown. “Why?”

Swearing again, Liz grabbed her coat and keys. “I have to go. I just remembered – I have a, an appointment.” She could clearly picture the box of chamomile tea in her pantry that she desperately needed to get to. “Thanks for dinner.”

“Liz, what's wrong?”

He sounded so much like he had in her dream that she shuddered. “Nothing, Ressler. I'll be fine. I just have to go.”

“You don't sound fine.” He followed her to the door.

“Really, I will be. I'm sorry to run out like this. But I have to go.”

“Where are you going? I'll come with you,” he offered.

She shook her head. “No, you can't,” she said, and then winced at the confusion and hurt on his face. She sighed. It wasn't his fault she'd lost track of time and forgotten to plan better. “Sorry. This isn't even as big of a deal as I'm making it out to be.”

“Okay. So what is it?” He crossed his arms.

But she could not picture herself explaining this facet of dragon biology to her partner. Not now. “It's a dragon thing,” she said reluctantly. “And it happens every year, and I lost track of time. Remember last year, when I went on vacation for a week at about this time?”

After a moment, he nodded. “And now you're going to do that again?”

“Yeah. I'll tell you what's going on after I get back,” she said. “I promise. And don't worry – I'll come into work tomorrow, first, and set up the whole thing with Cooper. But then I'm going to be gone.”

It was his turn to sigh. “That means I can't be watching your back.”

“I'll be careful,” she said. She could probably call Mr. Kaplan for a temporary bodyguard. That would make Red happy.

“And if I mention this to Reddington, he'll know what you're talking about?”

Liz nodded. “Do what you need to do. But I'm leaving now.”

“Have a good trip,” he said flatly.

In her apartment, she started some water boiling, got out two tea bags from that box, and then started to pack. She'd head for South Carolina, maybe. One of the less crowded spots near the beach. That sounded good. She packed quickly, stopping only to set the tea to steep. Once it was ready, she poured the whole thing into a thermos, checked to make sure she had everything she needed, and left.

It was already after nine at night when she pulled out of her apartment parking lot, but Liz drove for an hour before stopping for the night. If she hadn't needed to go in to work the next day, she would have kept going for a few more hours. But at least she'd finished her dose of chamomile for the night. Tomorrow would be fine.

~~~~~~

Cooper was understandably irritated that Liz wanted to leave immediately, without going through proper channels for vacation. However, he couldn't argue when she said Red wasn't around so there wouldn't be any Blacklisters to chase. And since she normally made it a point not to take vacation days or even most of her sick days, he eventually gave in.

_I'll see you in about a week,_ she said silently to Ressler, as she left. He nodded slightly.

In theory, Liz knew she could stay. She'd stayed the first time. But from what Red had told her, staying now would supposedly necessitate Ressler leaving. In the eyes of dragon society, any male with any kind of friendly relationship sticking around for the female's season was rude and crass. She still hadn't decided what she would do if she was in a relationship with someone. She supposed she could ask Leah Weston, who had first told her about this whole thing, for advice. The point was, one of them had to leave. This time, it would be her, since Ressler didn't even know what was going on.

She had brought enough tea with her to keep herself taken care of for the whole week. But it only took her one day of supposed relaxation to get bored. She checked in with the board of directors for the non-profit – as yet a very small group, but they were committed and had already started to make connections and push where they needed to push. She also called the woman who was in charge of HR, and made sure she knew that Liz was hopeful that Whitney Lam's application would receive very serious consideration. Of course it still depended on the girl's qualifications. However, Liz had a shrewd idea that her backing of Whitney would carry weight.

Then she told herself firmly to enjoy the sun and sand, and enjoy not having any pressing responsibilities. It was certainly true that sunbathing was a lot more pleasant now that she never had to worry about sunburn. Apparently that was a bonus of her reptile side. And between her temporary bodyguard – a discreet but formidable woman named Erin that Mr. Kaplan had been happy to suggest – and the fact that she kept her service weapon close at hand, no one bothered her.

Ressler texted her a few times. She kept her responses short, but enough to set his mind at ease that she was doing fine. A few times, she tried to mentally compose how she would tell him about this. Each time, she gave up. That was not restful. And there was really no point in worrying in the meantime.


	3. Chapter 3

~~  
July 24

Ressler resisted the urge to pick up his phone and check his messages again. Liz had already told him she had arrived safely at her vacation destination. There was no need for her to text him again, or for him to text her. He sighed. If she had decided to tell him what was really going on with her right now, he knew he would be more okay with her sudden departure. But she hadn't. And he needed to get over it, for the time being, anyway.

There wasn't even anything interesting to do at work, which didn't help. Reddington wasn't around, although Ressler didn't think he had gone far. He had spoken to the man briefly yesterday, but he hadn't shared any details about where Liz was and why, either. Of course. He had only assured Ressler that she had a good reason for leaving, and that she'd be back before long.

“Agent Ressler.”

Ressler looked up, startled. He hadn't even heard Cooper approach the door to the office. “Yes, sir?”

“Can I talk to you for a minute?”

“Yeah, sure,” Ressler said. He gathered the papers he had been staring at into a neater pile. “Uh, here, or in your office?”

“Here is fine.” Cooper came in and shut the door behind him. He sat down across from Ressler, at Liz's desk, and leaned his cane against it. Then he gestured to Ressler's phone. “Have you been in contact with Agent Keen? Did her trip go well?”

“She said she arrived safely, a few hours ago,” Ressler answered. He kept his expression neutral, wondering how much he was going to have to lie to his boss if his questions went in the direction Ressler thought they might. “I assume she's doing vacation things now, and not checking her phone that often.”

Cooper nodded. He cleared his throat and said, “And if I were to ask you what you know about the reasons behind your partner taking this sudden and apparently urgent vacation, what would you say?”

Ressler took just a moment to organize his thoughts. He didn't have to lie here. “I'd say I don't understand it either, and I wish she had told me what's really going on. But she does deserve some time off if she wants to take it.”

Cooper smiled slightly and nodded again. “Fair enough,” he said. “Of course I agree that Agent Keen deserves to take time away from work when she needs to. But this trip she's on right now isn't the only thing I've been curious about recently.”

“Sir?” Ressler looked at him, and waited.

“There's a trend I've noticed with you and with her, and even Reddington, in the past months,” he went on. “Oh, it's nothing too obvious – I can tell you've been trying to keep everything the same as it's always been. But it seems to me that there's been something going on between the three of you, outside of work, for some time now.”

“Between the three of us?” He raised his eyebrows. “I honestly have no idea what you might think we've been up to.” That was also true enough, though he could guess that it would be illegal.

“At first I thought it was just some kind of off-the-books investigation,” said Cooper. “But it seems to have taken significantly longer than the average investigation, at least. So then I wondered if you and Keen had been drawn into something even less legal by Reddington.”

Ressler took a deep breath and looked Cooper in the eye. “Sir, Agent Keen and I have not been engaged in any kind of illegal behavior, with or without Reddington's involvement,” he stated. He wasn't sure how little he could tell and still skate by. “Are you worried about our performance on the job? Or are you concerned that our loyalty or integrity has been compromised?”

“No, I'm not concerned about either of those things,” the assistant director admitted. “You both continue to do excellent work. But I'm not convinced that you're not hiding something extracurricular, either.” He picked up his cane and stood up. “And if I'm right, I hope either you or Agent Keen decide to tell me at some point soon – before it becomes a problem.”

He could think of nothing to say to further protest his innocence, so Ressler just stayed silent as his boss left the room. Then he sighed and rubbed a hand across his face. This was something Liz would need to know about – but unless it developed any further in the next few days, she didn't have to know about it until she got back from her trip. Wherever she was. He sighed again and resolutely returned to his paperwork.

At the end of the week, when Liz got back, Ressler almost forgot to tell her about his conversation with Cooper in the wake of the very startling revelation of the reason why she had left. She had to be more embarrassed about the whole 'season' thing than he was, he told himself once she had left his apartment, but it was still yet another thing totally outside his experience or comfort zone. He caught himself wondering after that, what would have happened if she hadn't remembered in time – but that was a line of thought that was better not indulged. Of course it wasn't like he'd never noticed that his partner was a beautiful woman, but the idea of her without the ability to control her own impulses... He took a gulp of the beer he had started to drink as soon as she'd left. He needed to think about something else. Now.

The next day at work, Ressler did his best not to be awkward with her. She did likewise with him. When they had a free moment, he passed along what Cooper had said while she was gone. “He definitely knows something is up,” he finished, “and unless you want to wipe his memory, and then do it again when he notices again, I don't know how to keep him from being suspicious.”

Liz shook her head. “No. I don't want to do that, and besides, repeated memory wipes can damage a person's brain.” She sighed. “We'll just have to … be extra careful, and stay alert.”

“More than usual?” he said skeptically. That tidbit about the effects of repeated memory wipes was chilling, but not unexpected. Remembering how it had felt when David Kent had attacked his mind, he could easily believe in the possibility of permanent damage.

She gave a wry smile. “Yeah, I guess.”  
~


	4. Chapter 4

~~~~~~

By the time she got back into town Tuesday night, six days after she'd left, she was pleasantly surprised at how relaxed she did feel. Of course, even with the tea, there had been no chance she'd be able to totally rest. Still, for a getaway that had started out in panic, she was content with how it had turned out. She made a mental note to add chamomile tea to her shopping list.

After parking, Liz got out her bag and went to where Erin had pulled in, two spots over. The woman had insisted on accompanying her back to the apartment, although at least she hadn't seemed to mind Liz driving her own car. “So, my usual bodyguard is inside.”

Erin nodded. “I've gotten you back here safely. That's what I was told I needed to do.”

“Thank you,” said Liz. She realized she had no idea how payment should be worked out in this case. Ressler had completely refused to even have the discussion, but Erin wasn't in the same situation.

“I'll make sure Mr. Kaplan is in touch about my fee,” said Erin, as if she had guessed Liz's thoughts.

“Good. Can I call you again if I need to?”

Erin's smile was faint, but seemed genuine. “Of course. Good night, Agent Keen.”

Liz had seen that Ressler's car was in the parking lot, too. So, after she'd gone inside and opened her suitcase in her room, she made herself one final cup of tea and carried it with her to her partner's door. For a moment, when he didn't answer her knock, she wondered if he was still annoyed with her. Maybe that would be a good excuse for putting this conversation off.

But then he opened the door. “Hey. How was your trip?”

“It was good. Can I come in?”

He nodded and moved aside, shutting the door behind her. “Can I ask where you went?”

“It's not a secret. I went to South Carolina. Mostly hung out on the beach.”

He raised his eyebrows. “That sounds nice. But it also sounds like something you could do anytime. And if you just wanted to be alone...”

“I swear, Ressler, if that's what I'd wanted, I'd have told you. I'm not going to just pretend to have some kind of draconic emergency that you can't get involved with,” she said, sitting down on the couch and taking a sip of her tea.

“Yeah,” he said. “That's pretty much what Reddington said when I spoke to him, although he was even less forthcoming than you.”

She snorted softly. Since he hadn't even wanted to talk to her about it, she couldn't imagine Red feeling chatty with Ressler on this subject. “You do need to know about this. But – just bear with me. God, it's awkward.”

“Take your time,” he said.

Unless she wanted to drag it out, there was really only one way to go about this, she had decided. “Okay. Uh, I'm guessing you know there are a lot of animals where the female goes into heat every so often.” He nodded, but obviously had no idea where she was going with this. She took a deep breath and went for it. “Turns out, that's true of dragons, too.”

His eyes widened, and his mouth dropped open. It took him a few seconds before he said, in a strangled voice, “Oh.”

She took another drink, staring down at his coffee table. “It's just once a year, for about a week. And I should be better at keeping track by now. But maybe the sheer awkwardness of before I left, added to having to have this conversation now, will burn it into my brain.” After a long pause, during which she wondered hopelessly what he was thinking, she finally looked up.

His expression was still shocked, but there was concern there, too. “Are you able to – I mean, is there any way... Are you okay?”

“I'm fine,” she said. “It's not as, uh...” This was shaping up to be just as embarrassing as she had dreaded. She cleared her throat. “There are ways to make it not so bad.”

He swallowed. “Okay.” Then he sighed, and swore under his breath before meeting her gaze again. “So you have to leave for this, or else you'll...?”

“It's not that,” she said quickly, pretty sure she could follow his train of thought. “There's such thing as, um, a kind of dragon birth control. That's what I meant, about making it not that bad. It's manageable.”

Ressler ran a hand through his hair. His expression lost a little of its worry. “Good.”

“But I've been told it's rude for any male that I know personally not to leave during my season,” she said. She hadn't stopped blushing this whole time. “That's why Red's gone. I didn't want to make you leave for no reason, though, so I went, instead.” There was another silence, and Liz finished her tea. It was lukewarm by now, and it didn't sit very comfortably in her stomach. That was probably mostly because of the adrenaline, though.

“Well, uh,” Ressler said after a while, his voice still sounding strange, “I can see why you wouldn't be eager to talk about this.”

She wasn't sure he was actually able to visualize just how true that was, but the point still stood. “Yeah.”

“And you're really okay?” He was blushing, too, she saw.

“It was pretty uneventful,” she told him. When he didn't immediately have anything else to say, she stood. “I think that's about as long as I can handle having this conversation.”

“Right,” he said, standing as well.

“And, um, it's been a week, so it's over. So, yeah, I'd like to not talk about it anymore,” Liz said. She picked up her empty mug.

“That's fine,” Ressler agreed hastily.

“Good night,” she said. She breathed a sigh of relief when she was back in her own apartment. Most of the time, she enjoyed at least the personal aspects of being a dragon. It had a lot going for it. On the other hand, though she still wasn't about to wish she were something else, then there were times like these. She was glad there was one more beer left in the fridge.

~~~~~~

Liz and Samar were on the sidewalk, ready to cut across to where Ressler was waiting, when it happened. A ball rolled out into the street and a little boy, maybe eight years old, started to run after it. Liz saw the pickup coming and as if in slow motion, calculated that in seconds, the boy would be in its path. If she tried to catch him, on the other hand, she saw that she wouldn't be in time. She saw all this in a split second, and made her choice, though she wasn't sure it would work. “Stop!” she shouted to the boy, and her voice resonated more than normal. “Come back!”

He froze about a foot out of the path of the truck, whose brakes were now shrieking. The ball bounced off its front wheel. But the boy, whose face showed no sign of fear, turned around and walked back to the sidewalk. Samar reached him first. She bent down and asked, “Are you all right?”

He blinked. “What happened?”

“You ran out in the street,” she said gently. “You could have been hurt.”

“Oh. Well, I'm okay,” he said, and then he turned and ran back the way he had come.

Samar straightened and looked at Liz, shaking her head. “Little boys think they're invincible.”

Liz sighed. “Yeah.” Her heart was still pounding. They made their way across the street in the crosswalk. Ressler joined them, and he gave her a brief, pointed look. He had noticed. _I know,_ she told him silently, _but what else could I do?_

The rest of the day passed without any kind of excitement, just pursuing leads for their case. But before everyone left for the evening, Samar came in to Liz's office. “When that boy ran out into the street today, how did you stop him like that?”

Liz shrugged. “I don't know that I did anything. I just yelled.”

“Yes,” said Samar, “but I was watching closely. He stopped moving the instant you shouted. And then afterward he acted like nothing had even happened.”

“Well, you said it yourself,” said Liz, keeping her tone even. “Sometimes kids don't understand what kind of danger they put themselves in.”

Samar nodded, but didn't leave. After a moment, she said, “Anyway, I'm glad the boy was all right, and no one else was hurt.”

“Yeah,” said Liz. “Me, too.” She got the strong feeling that Samar wasn't buying that she hadn't done anything unusual. If she was honest, Liz doubted this was the first time Samar had had reason to notice something odd, although of course she did her best to be careful. But at least for this time, neither of them brought it up again.

~~~~~~

A few days after Whitney Lam officially started working at the non-profit, and after Liz and Ressler had heard a little more of her family's background with dragons, Liz decided to broach the subject with Red of meeting her. Now that she'd confirmed that Lin Wei Chang had indeed been involved in organized crime, Liz felt both more and less ready for Whitney to meet her father.

Of course, she reflected, as she drove to the house where Red was currently staying, the number of times she'd had the opportunity to introduce Red to anyone were few – much less as her father. But this was definitely a unique situation in many ways. However the eventual meeting did go, Liz had no doubt that it wouldn't be exactly as she expected. Whitney seemed to have a talent for defying expectations.

Red was fascinated to hear of Whitney's family connection with dragons. “I must say, Lizzie, I'm a little jealous that you ran across this girl before I did. It's not often I come across something so entirely new to my experience.”

Liz smiled at his enthusiasm. “And you haven't heard of her grandfather's boss, either?”

“The name isn't familiar,” said Red. “It's possible I've met him under another name, I suppose. He would be far from the first long-lived dragon to change his name during the course of his lifetime.”

Liz narrowed her eyes. “Are you saying you've changed yours?”

He laughed. “For lives as long as ours can be, we have to be careful what records might show.”

She considered asking if he'd picked this name for its extremely apt nickname, but decided the answer wouldn't make a difference either way. To her, he was Red, and she couldn't picture him as anyone else. And then, for a moment, she tried to imagine what it would be like to live long enough that changing her own identity would make sense. Then she shook her head. “Anyway, about Whitney. I haven't told her much about you yet. I told her I knew the dragon who she sensed that day a few weeks ago, and that we were allies. But other than that you want to meet her, that's it.”

Red's expression gave nothing away as he said, “For dragon business in this part of the world, the cat's basically out of the bag in terms of my relationship to you.”

“I know,” she said. “I was planning to tell her before you do actually meet, anyway.”

“Lizzie, it's entirely up to you what personal details you choose to share with your people,” he said. “I'm simply telling you that in my judgement, there is no added risk to you, unless you believe Ms. Lam will decide to inform the FBI.”

She blushed faintly. “No, I don't want to keep it a secret when there's no reason. But it's just that I've been thinking – the only other time I've introduced you to anyone as my father was Lanneth.” She met his eyes. “So it still feels... new, I guess.”

“Yes,” was all he said in response. “So what did you have in mind for this meeting?”

“I was thinking about lunch, in the conference room at the non-profit,” she said. “I just need to find a time when we can be sure we'll have it to ourselves.” The one thing she had wanted to be completely sure of was that this meeting would take place on her turf. And Whitney would perhaps be more at ease there, since it was her place of work now.

“Does tomorrow work, or is that too soon for you?” He seemed unperturbed by her suggestion of a location.

“No, that should be fine. I'll message you with a time, unless there's some reason it won't work.” That just meant she would need to duck out of the Post Office earlier than she usually did for lunch – and she still wanted to be sure Whitney knew who Red was before she met him.

~~~~~~

Liz had contacted Whitney first by phone after talking to Red that night, to see if she was busy. But she waited until the next day, and until they had met up again in person, to talk further. Liz went to the office where Whitney was. The room was big, as the idea was to eventually have several more people involved in accounting. Currently, however, Whitney was alone.

“Agent Keen!” she said, standing up from her desk when Liz knocked and then entered. “Am I late? I'm sorry, I thought we were having lunch at 12:30.” It was only noon.

“We are, don't worry,” said Liz. “But I was hoping to talk to you for just a few minutes, first.”

“Oh. Sure,” she said, sitting back down. “Um, there's a chair. Sorry, I don't think it's very comfortable.”

“It's fine,” Liz assured her, and sat. _There's something I want to tell you, and I'm going to ask that you keep it a secret. That's why I'm speaking this way._

Whitney got it. _Okay._

 _I told you that Raymond Reddington, the dragon we're meeting for lunch, is an ally of mine. That's true, but he's also my father,_ she said. _And he's number four on the FBI's Most Wanted list._

Whitney's eyes went wide. _Wow. I'm guessing that's especially interesting, since you work for the FBI._

Liz nodded. _The FBI doesn't know I'm his daughter. We – I didn't grow up with him._

_Ah. Does Agent Ressler know?_

Liz was glad to notice that Whitney instinctively kept her telepathy 'quiet', intended only for her. _Yes. But if anyone else found out-_

 _\- You'd have to arrest your father?_ Whitney looked sympathetic.

 _Well, whatever would happen, I'd like to avoid it,_ said Liz. There was absolutely no reason to tell Whitney that it was more likely that Red's immunity deal with the FBI would be annulled – and some other agent would try to arrest him, and quite possibly her, as well. _We both would prefer that._

 _I won't tell anyone,_ said Whitney.

 _I trust you not to,_ Liz told her. _And my father trusts my judgement._ That was perhaps an overstatement, but true enough for this situation. “Anyway. That was what I needed to tell you. I'll let you get back to work for a few minutes.”

Liz was pretty sure Whitney did in fact surprise both Red and her after she had made the first introductions. “It's nice to meet you, Mr. Reddington,” said Whitney, with one of her easy and genuine smiles. “If you don't mind my saying so, I can see the family resemblance.”

Red raised his eyebrows. Then he chuckled and said, “No, I don't mind at all. In fact, I'll take it as a compliment. It's lovely to meet you finally, as well.”

Liz hadn't been sure if what he really intended to do might be to spend the entire time quizzing Whitney on her history. That hadn't sounded to her like it would be much fun for the girl, but it turned out that wasn't what he did. Instead, as they ate, he asked her to tell him whichever of her grandfather's stories she wanted to tell, and behaved as a perfect audience member as she did. “Your grandfather clearly knew how to tell a story,” Red said approvingly, when she was done recounting the tale of a time he had talked his way into a police station and rescued a fellow member of Lin's organization from holding, while impersonating a superior officer.

“Yeah, he did,” said Whitney. “For a while, especially when I was a teenager, I thought they were all just fairy tales, though.”

“But you remembered them, just the same,” Red said, “even though you had no idea they might actually come in handy for your life."

By the end of the hour, Red had thoroughly charmed Whitney, and he seemed pleased with her, too. Liz had found herself enjoying the time, as well. She still couldn't be sure what kinds of off-the-books tasks Whitney might end up doing for her, but now she could feel that the young woman shouldn't have too much trouble navigating the world of dragons.

She and Red left the building together after saying goodbye to Whitney. “What a delightful person,” he remarked. “Her ideas are still rather romantic, but it seems to me that she has the potential to be quite the asset for you.”

Liz was about to agree when she saw the other FBI vehicle parked out in front. At first she thought it was Ressler, even though she'd told him he didn't need to come. But it was Samar who was standing outside. She was clearly waiting for them. _What the hell?_ Liz said to Red.

“Samar,” Red said calmly, “to what do we owe the pleasure?”

“Did Agent Ressler not join you two this time?” she asked in response.

“I don't know where Ressler is,” said Liz, truthfully enough. “Does it matter? Am I missing something we should be doing?”

Samar smiled, and it wasn't a friendly smile. “This isn't about work. Not exactly. You see, today isn't the first time I've followed you recently, Keen. At first when I noticed you, Ressler, and Reddington acting like you shared a secret, I figured it didn't matter if it didn't impact the Task Force. And then it continued for months and months. You're still working, and still effective, so perhaps it truly does not matter. But it's still been bothering me for a number of reasons.”

“Agent Navabi,” Red said, into the short silence that followed, “I guarantee that Agent Keen and I aren't up to anything that affects you, nor should it be cause for any worry on your part. I can't speak for Agent Ressler.”

Samar crossed her arms. “Are you telling me he's not involved in this, whatever this is?”

“There's no 'this' for him to be involved in,” Liz said. “I'm sorry if I've made you suspicious. I'm not trying to be secretive.” She bit her lip, then looked her in the eye. “If you have a specific concern, feel free to let me know. Otherwise, I'm going to go back to the Post Office now, since lunch is over.”

“Agent Keen, something is going on,” Samar insisted. “Even your body language in relation to Ressler's has changed in the past few months.”

“In what way?” Red asked, before Liz could. Of course, he sounded curious, rather than defensive.

She turned to him. “It's subtle, I'll admit. At first I thought it was just that he's in love with her, but that doesn't explain all of it. And I still don't see it all the time – mostly when we're all in the field. I've seen a lot of bodyguards in my work, and that's how Ressler is acting. And that's how Agent Keen is acting, too, like he's her guard.”

Liz felt a chill go down her spine, which replaced the blush she had felt in response to the beginning of Samar's answer. They had tried not to have their different positions outside of work change their interactions while at work. But clearly they hadn't been as careful as she could have wished. Samar was a damn good investigator. At least Liz could hope it had only been her who had noticed as much as she had. Although, given what Ressler had told her about Cooper after she got back from her vacation...

“Fascinating,” said Red. “I think we should have a chat.”

 _What kind of chat?_ Liz asked him silently. She didn't want Samar's mind to be messed with any more than she'd wanted that for Ressler. But it did seem kind of ridiculous to imagine both of her colleagues being brought in. Everything obviously wasn't going to just fall into place, that was for sure. She cleared her throat. “It is actually time for us to go back to work. I wasn't just saying that.”

“Harold can wait,” Red said. “Tell him I had a lead, or something.” He regarded Samar, who hadn't stopped looking at them suspiciously. “Agent Navabi's concerns need to be addressed.”

“Then I'll text Ressler,” Liz decided. Whatever happened here, he needed to know.

“The more, the merrier,” said Red, with a nod as she typed. “Agent Navabi, would you care to take this to a more private location?”

Samar narrowed her eyes. “I'm not planning to disappear today.”

Red laughed. “And I'm not planning to make anyone disappear, and neither is Agent Keen. Why don't we find a park or somewhere we can be in sight of people, but still have privacy?”

Samar suggested a location, and Red agreed. Liz texted it to Ressler. Logistically, it was awkward that they were all going in separate vehicles, but it was not nearly as awkward as how Liz felt during the trip. She felt guilty for wishing she could be willing to hypnotize Samar into forgetting what she'd noticed. Things were complicated enough as it was. Yet she could sympathize with wanting to know the truth about what was going on. She didn't want Samar to get hurt – either of the major ways that she could imagine that happening now.

Ressler was there waiting when she arrived (at least he'd taken a taxi), and so were Red and Dembe. Samar pulled up at around the same time. “What's going on, Liz?” her partner said quietly.

She'd only told him it was urgent, and who all he could expect to see there. _Samar followed me to the non-profit today, and met us as we came out afterward._

He turned to look at Samar, who was approaching quickly. “Why?”

 _She knows something's up with you, me, and Red,_ Liz told him. Any other thoughts the woman might have about her and Ressler weren't important right now. _Something we can't explain away easily._

“Agent Ressler,” said Samar at that moment. “I see you came when you were called.”

Ressler frowned. “Liz told me something's going on with you.”

Samar gave a short laugh. “Yes, because it's me that something's going on with.”

“Shall we find a quieter area?” Red suggested firmly, before the discussion could go further.

Samar had chosen well. There were a few people around, but the park was far from crowded. “All right,” she said, before anyone else could speak, “I've come here alone, despite knowing I would be the only one here who isn't a part of whatever this is. That's because I do trust this team, even though I know you have all been keeping something from me. So. Why does Agent Keen suddenly need a bodyguard, and why is Agent Ressler filling that role?”

Ressler shot Liz a glance. “That's what she knows?”

Liz shrugged. “Apparently.” _Red, are you going to insist on wiping her memory?_

 _I know you don't want to,_ Red said, _but this increases our risk with the FBI considerably. As we've seen, even one other person knowing has had consequences._

Ressler had heard this exchange. He clenched his jaw, and made it clear even though he couldn't speak telepathically that he was very much against the idea of Samar's mind being tampered with.

“That's not all,” said Samar, who had not been privy to any of the unspoken conversation. “But that is my first question.”

“It's safer for you if you don't get answers to these questions,” Liz said with a sigh, feeling the deja vu of when she had said something very similar to Ressler.

“Safer?” Samar asked, raising her eyebrows. “Reddington, you told me I wasn't going to disappear.”

“And you're not,” Red said. “But what if you could forget, and not worry about this whole business anymore?”

“I'm not going to forget, so why even bother to ask?” Samar said.

“Oh, but you could,” Red said. After a moment, he went on. “I think this team works well together. It still would, if you forgot about this issue.”

Liz hadn't expected him to take this route with Samar. It was probably meant to give Liz the chance to avoid feeling guilty if her friend's memories were, indeed, altered. But even if Samar agreed to this, which Liz thought was unlikely, it wouldn't really be informed consent. “It is possible,” she said, when Samar seemed at a loss for words. “I'm not sure it would be much of a permanent solution, though.”

Ressler scoffed. “Yeah, I doubt that.”

He had reason to know. Liz looked away.

“Nonetheless,” Red said, “as Agent Keen told you, your safety is at risk. Not necessarily from anyone here, but I may as well tell you it doesn't stop with those of us who know you and have a reason to maintain this relationship.”

Samar shook her head. “Now you're giving me vague hints of a threat. This is insane.” She looked at each of them in turn. “I'm used to being in danger. I can take it.”

Liz was deciding what to tell her first when there was a commotion behind them. She turned around just in time to see a dog tear its leash out of its owner's hands and run toward the group of them, barking loudly. The owner called after it, but it wasn't listening.

Dembe, Liz noticed, was watching as it got closer yet didn't seem overly worried. Neither was she, even though it was a large dog (some kind of German shepherd mix, she thought) and she was closest to its path. She didn't even think about her service weapon, but simply turned to face the dog. And though it had been barreling toward them at full speed, still barking and growling, she watched as it stumbled to a stop a few yards away from her, skidding in the grass. It stopped barking and started to whine, tail down, ears flat. Liz didn't know what had attracted its attention about their group in the first place, but the poor thing was obviously aware it had made a mistake.

“Reggie!” The owner had finally reached them. “Oh my God, I'm sorry, he doesn't usually run away like that.” Reggie slunk toward his owner, glancing back at Liz and whining, and the young man picked up the end of his leash.

“It's all right. No harm done,” said Liz, smiling.

“Good. Sorry about that,” the man said, and he and the dog left.

When Liz turned back to the rest of them, she realized Samar was now staring at her with much the same expression as she'd had in the office after the incident with the boy running into the street. Ressler also looked startled, although he at least was trying not to. Red, naturally, just looked entertained.

“When you and Reddington say I could forget,” Samar said finally, and there was a tremor in her voice that was faint enough that Liz almost missed it, “what you mean is that you could _make_ me forget. Isn't that true?”

Liz hesitated, but then nodded. There wasn't any point in denying it now.

“And you're, what, offering to do this as a favor? Rather than simply doing it without my consent?” She shook her head again, and said something under her breath that didn't sound like English. “Wait. Is this like what happened with that boy?”

“What boy?” asked Red, tilting his head.

“Not exactly,” said Liz. “But it's the same idea.”

“My God, what the hell is this?” she said, and her voice rose.

“Are you both going out of your way to freak her out?” Ressler suddenly said. “Look, I know this is crazy, Samar. In some ways, it was easier for me because I got the most important fact all at once, accidentally.”

“But that's not going to work here,” Liz put in, returning his glare. She didn't appreciate his accusation. There had been no way for her to predict the dog – or how it had reacted to her, for that matter. Although Dembe and Red probably could have predicted the latter. They probably had predicted it. Maybe Ressler had a point. She sighed.

Samar threw up her hands. “This is not answering anything!”

“I'm sorry, Agent Navabi,” Red said, though considering how entertained he still looked, Liz doubted Samar was mollified. “This has been rather confusing, hasn't it? But I believe I can actually cut to the heart of the matter in a similar way as to how Agent Ressler learned this secret.”

It wasn't until he had stood up from the bench where he had been sitting, set his hat down on the seat, and started to walk toward the empty space to their right that Liz realized what he was doing. “Red? We're not alone here.”

“I'm aware of that, Lizzie,” he told her. “I can assure you, only the five of us will see.”

Of course. The trick they'd learned about from Lanneth. She herself still hadn't gotten the hang of it, which was annoying. “Showoff,” she said under her breath. It wasn't like she had lots of opportunities to practice, either. But if it turned out to be a question of her lesser amount of dragon blood than his, that would be especially unfair.

“Only the five of us?” Ressler asked her quietly. “It's still risky.”

He was right. Samar was glancing between them and Red, although her gaze settled on Red since it was obvious he was about to do something. Sure enough, a second later, there was a huge red dragon in the empty field where Red had been standing. There was almost not enough room for him – it wasn't that big of a park. But Red stretched his wings to their full length, turned his head toward them, and then transformed back, all without anyone else seeming to notice.

Samar seemed frozen until he was back in their circle, and had put his hat back on and sat once more. Then she finally gasped in a breath and spoke. “You, and Liz?”

“Yes,” said Red. “I'm sure she'd love to have shown you, herself, but there's only room for one of us at a time here.”

Samar nodded, still clearly stunned. “I imagine so.” She all but fell into her seat opposite where he was. “There must be more of you, obviously. My own culture has the legends. Dragons are supposed to be evil creatures, immortal, and capable of changing their shape. In some versions, they are all but indistinguishable from demons.”

“I've read most of the stories,” Red acknowledged. “But not all the legends paint us quite so black. In much of East Asia, for example, dragons are thought to be generally benevolent beings. And even in the West, a dragon on one's family crest is a symbol of power and prosperity.”

Of course Red would have thoroughly researched this topic. Liz wondered if he had any books she could borrow. Even if it was all much more myth than history, with only the smallest amount of truth, she couldn't deny her curiosity.

“Right,” said Samar, and then laughed, eyes still wide. “This does explain a lot. Was Frank Vandenberg collecting dragons, then?”

“Yeah,” Ressler said. “That's how I found myself in this, when we were raiding his warehouse.”

“And that's why all his research vanished before we saw it,” Samar guessed.

“Samar,” said Red, “as much as I can see how you might feel the need to go over all the cases you've worked on at the Post Office and find any draconic connection, you have a choice to make now.”

“Ah,” she said. “Either I lose my memories of most of this day, and probably of what I've noticed about Liz and Ressler, or – what, I have to be a guard for one of you, too?”

“Broadly stated, that's about the shape of it,” Red said. “Although there are other options besides being a guard, and the details of your position can be sorted out later. I would welcome a woman of your skills in my organization. We've already worked well together. However, in the interest of fairness, since her organization is newer and smaller, I should let Elizabeth speak first.”

Liz blushed. “We can talk about it later, Samar. But I would be honored.”

“Good,” said Red, as if that settled the matter. “In the meantime, Dembe and I have somewhere else to be, and I'm guessing Harold would appreciate it if his employees returned to their place of work.”

Liz checked her phone and realized she had, in fact, missed more than one call from work. “Okay, so do you have an actual tip for us, or am I supposed to make one up?”

Red laughed. “If you do, please tell me about it later.” When she gave him a dirty look, he went on. “It so happens that I do have a tip, however, so you can save your idea for another time.” He passed on the information, and then they dispersed.

Throughout the rest of the work day, Liz felt Samar's eyes on her – and when they weren't on her, they were on Ressler. She was subtle enough about it that Liz didn't think Aram or Cooper noticed. But then, Liz hadn't thought Samar had noticed as much as she had, so maybe everyone knew and just hadn't said anything yet. This arrangement was bound to end eventually, but Liz was in no hurry for that. She still had no idea how she would transition to a more normal Bureau career, and that was without even considering what the end of the Blacklist Task Force would mean for Red.

When she left work, she was not at all shocked to see that both Ressler and Samar were waiting for her outside. “I'm guessing you're not here for small talk,” she said.

“I'm here to find out just what kind of position I'm being forced into,” said Samar.

“Look, Samar, I didn't say so at the park because Reddington was there, but I don't want to force you to do anything,” Liz said. “You don't have to work for me or for him.”

“That sounds like I should be relieved,” said Samar, “except that the very fact that you couldn't tell me this with Reddington present makes me doubt that I can just go on with my life normally.”

“You're right.” She ran a hand through her hair, trying to summon up all the ideas she'd had after their meeting. “In terms of dragon society, you pretty much have to be in or out, at least enough that anyone else looking in doesn't decide that... well, that you need to be definitively out.”

“Dragon society,” Samar repeated. “I see. I assume you have an idea that doesn't involve other dragons deciding I should be – out?”

“I do,” she said. “But I don't want to talk about it here. My suggestion would be that we all go to my apartment. If Red has someone watching, that would be our best bet to get him to leave us alone.”

Samar sighed. “Fine. Can we get something for dinner, as well? From what I've seen, you seem to eat like a human, right?”

Ressler coughed, and Liz shot him a look before turning back to Samar. “Yes. To both of your questions. Physically, when we're in human form, we're basically human.” It wasn't as weird to say as it had been when she was first discussing this with Ressler. Oddly, it was actually weirder to have to talk about what kind of food they were going to eat in this context. But once that was settled, they left.

They ate when they arrived at her house, and the near-silence at first was enough to drive up the tension in the room until it was intolerable. “Okay,” said Liz finally, wiping her hands, “I'm going to tell you my idea right now because not talking isn't working for me. Basically, we go through the process of me hiring you. I guess there are times when I could use more than one bodyguard, so maybe we'll say that. But any position that makes sense. That's more up to you.”

Samar swallowed the bite of food she had been eating. “So in this scenario, I agree to pretend to work for you, if Reddington or anyone else asks?”

Liz shrugged. “Well, I wasn't lying earlier when I said I'd be honored to have you. But I also meant it when I said I didn't want to force you into this.”

“What does this hiring process require?”

Liz couldn't tell what Samar was thinking, what direction she might be leaning. “Your verbal agreement would be half of the process already. But there are also a few things I would need to do to protect you.” She finished the food that was on her plate, though she felt Samar waiting for clarification. “Mostly, I would want to make sure no other dragon could get into your mind.”

Samar tensed. “What you're really telling me is that no matter what I do, you're going to screw with my head. But you don't want to force me to do anything.” The last sentence was said with heavy irony.

“I don't have a good answer for you,” Liz finally said, her own voice low. She stared down at her hands in her lap, wishing she could think of a way to make this better. “I'm not going to insult you by pretending it wouldn't be an invasion of your privacy, even though the protection I'm talking about only involves me doing anything to you once. So I guess the other option is that you leave. If you're far enough away, maybe – maybe no one would want to bother to follow you. I'm not saying I want that, though.” Liz wasn't sure, but the idea of having driven Samar away seemed worse to her than having to invade her privacy.

No one spoke for a few minutes. Samar leaned back in her seat. “Well. This is a bigger Pandora's Box than I ever imagined.”

Ressler snorted. “I hear you.”

“I don't expect you to make any kind of decision right away,” Liz said.

“Good,” said Samar. Her expression had changed from accusing to thoughtful, though she was still staring at Liz. “I believe you, you know. That you're trying to make this as easy as you can.”

Liz swallowed. “Thank you.”

“This isn't something you've dealt with your whole life, is it?”

Liz laughed ruefully. “No. I've known you longer than I've known I'm a dragon.”

She nodded, as if that had been what she expected to hear. “That must have been quite the shock.”

It was still easy to remember that earth-shattering day, though it was harder to recall what life had been like before. “Yeah, that's an understatement.”

“All right. I would like to go home and think about all of this,” said Samar. She stood up. “Thank you for dinner. It's certainly been... interesting.”

Ressler and Liz stood as well. “I hate to say it, but if you ever found life uninteresting, that's probably over now,” Liz told her. “I am sorry, Samar.”

“I accept your apology,” she said. “I'll see you at work.”

“Hey, give me a call if you want to hear my perspective,” Ressler added.

When Samar had left, Liz sat back down and rubbed her hands over her face. “Oh, my God,” she groaned. “Why do I have the feeling everything's about to spin out of control?”

“Glad it's not just me. Well, not glad, exactly,” Ressler said. He sat down again, too.

“I don't know what to do,” she sighed.

“Me, neither. But I think you did what you had to, today.”

She managed a smile. “Thanks. I just can't believe Samar noticed all that without me realizing it – or you, or even Red, apparently.”

“Yeah.” Ressler shook his head.

“I really wanted things to stay the way they've always been. But that's naïve, I know.”

“Maybe,” he said. It was his turn to sigh. “Anyway. We'll figure it out.”

He sounded sure. Even if his sureness was for show, it still helped. “Thanks. I hope you're right.”


	5. Chapter 5

~~  
August

Ressler was not surprised to receive a call from Samar the day after their awkward dinner at Liz's apartment. The workday was over, and Liz had no further work for him to do today. Maybe she was lying low for the moment after Samar's discovery, or maybe she was just tired. Regardless, it meant that Ressler was free to talk. “Where do you want to do this?” he asked her.

She paused. “Right. I suppose where we meet is important. How about the park nearest to your apartment? Will that do?”

“That's fine,” he said.

“Then I'll meet you there in ten minutes.”

Ressler sighed and walked over to stare out his front window. Like he and Liz had agreed yesterday, it just seemed like too much to hope that they could integrate Samar into the life they had been building without anything else changing. He was glad to have one fewer person to keep secrets from, and he liked Samar and knew she would be an asset for their organization. But he didn't know how much longer this whole thing could go on, without more drastic measures being taken, if they expected it to stay secret.

For a brief moment, he imagined what would happen if all essential personnel at the Post Office were brought in. It would be a major coup for both Liz and Reddington to have a whole government task force basically working for them. But then he laughed at himself and shook his head. While he had no doubt that certain higher-ups in the government were allowed to remain aware of the existence of dragons, this would have to be too many people all in one place to be permitted. He didn't want to think too hard about what the rest of the dragons would do if they found out about something like that.

So it was in a conflicted mood that Ressler made the short walk to the local park to wait for Samar. He didn't have to sit in the late summer evening too long before she arrived. She saw him where he was sitting at a picnic table near the play field. Based on the way she approached – direct, but slowly – Samar was also dealing with mixed emotions.

“Hi,” she said, when she got within earshot. “Thanks for, uh, doing this.”

“Not a problem,” Ressler replied. He gave a quick smile. “I've been where you are. And I know I wouldn't have minded the chance to talk to someone familiar with all of this before I took the plunge – not that I regret having taken it.”

Samar nodded and sat down across from him. She looked around and took a breath. “Should I assume we're being watched?”

He almost laughed at that as an opening question, and said, “By Liz's people? No, unless you count me. I'm kind of in charge of organizing that for her. But since she's still basically working out of Reddington's territory, then yeah, it's safe to assume someone of his knows where you are at all times.” He shrugged. “Which isn't that different than it was before I learned anything about this dragon stuff, so I try not to let it bother me too much.”

She stared at him with an expression that was difficult to read. “Well. You just told me or hinted at quite a lot of things with that answer,” she said. “So let me start with 'territory'. What does that entail?”

“Some of those kinds of things I'm going to leave up to Liz to explain,” said Ressler. He was fairly sure Liz had no problem with him divulging what he knew of the rules of dragon society, but it still seemed like the best idea to let her talk about some of it. “But I will say that Reddington has a territory that's his, as do all dragons, and right now his mostly overlaps with Liz's. And it just so happens that the Post Office and our apartment and the places in between are within that territory.”

“And is it normal for two dragons to share the same territory?” was her next question.

Ressler kept his face impassive. “You'll have to ask Liz about that,” he said. If Liz wanted to try to keep Samar from guessing the nature of her relationship to Reddington, or if she wanted to tell her, that was up to her.

Samar's nod was slow. “All right. How many people does Liz have in her organization?”

“That number depends on whether you count the people she's hired for temporary tasks or not,” said Ressler. “On a more full-time basis, she has twenty-one. Most of those are working at the nonprofit she's starting up.”

At that, Samar raised her eyebrows and said, “A nonprofit? Interesting. I'll have to hear more about that sometime. But now I want to hear more about what it is you do for her, and how you came to know about all of this.”

Ressler gave her a quick summary of his entrance in Vandenberg's warehouse, and how Liz hadn't wanted to wipe his memory in the aftermath. (He didn't bring up how he had already discovered her telepathic ability beforehand but had been forced to keep it to himself, by Liz's reluctant intervention.) Then he told her how she had answered all of his questions the day afterward, and then asked him to be the first official member of her organization six months after that.

“And you said yes,” she said. “Right away?”

He shook his head. “Not exactly. I wasn't sure of all that would mean, but I knew it was going to be a serious commitment, and that I needed to be sure before I decided.” Then he looked out at the play field, remembering. “But it still didn't take me too long to decide to go for it.”

She had an oddly knowing expression on her face when he looked toward her again, but she just said, “Can you tell me what your, ah, hiring experience was like? Or is that another thing I should wait for Liz to tell me?”

“I can tell you it was very memorable, and that there's a long tradition behind it apparently,” Ressler said. Everything about that night – except the part after they had all had a large number of celebratory drinks – was very clear in his memory. He thought about the look in Liz's eyes as she had read her part of the pledge … and after he had read his. “And that it's simple but not easy.”

“Hmm. The hiring experience, or the work as a whole?” she asked.

He came back to the present. “I was talking about the particular day I was hired. There's plenty that isn't easy, or simple.”

“Like what?”

Blowing out a breath, he said, “Where to start? Well, there's the fact that she's in constant danger now that she's establishing herself as a part of dragon society. That's why she needs protection.” He'd let Liz tell Samar the reasons why Reddington's enemies now saw Liz as even more of a target than they had before. “There's also just the sheer number of things I never would have expected that are different about dragons, even when they're human most of the time.”

Samar leaned forward and smiled. “Like what?”

“You sure you want the whole list?” he said. “I will admit I haven't read any Middle Eastern legends about dragons, but I'm guessing it's not what you'd expect, either.”

“That's why I'm asking,” she said.

“Okay.” Ressler thought through all the things that he had ever thought were weird, or surprising, or disturbing about being part of Liz's draconic life. Some, it was not his business to share, of course. “First of all, I guess you should know that they're more vulnerable to cold than we are, or at least it effects them more dramatically and faster than it does for us. That's part of the reptile heritage, I guess.”

Samar's eyebrows rose. “In that case, this hardly seems like the best climate for dragons to live in,” she remarked. “My home climate would be more ideal.”

“Probably,” agreed Ressler. Both Liz and Reddington seemed to revel in the heat when summer came around.

“Did you learn this from experience, then?” she inquired, suddenly looking concerned.

He nodded, and swallowed at the memory of how Liz had looked and felt that night, in the snowstorm. “Anyway, other than that, there's the whole telepathy thing.”

“What?” Samar choked.

“Oh, you didn't know?” Ressler blinked. He'd been aware of it for so long that he must have forgotten that Samar would have no reason to know about it yet. “Yeah. They can talk to each other, and us, telepathically. And they can find each other that way, too.”

She was still amazed. “So... When you were kidnapped outside your apartment, Reddington and Liz could...?”

“That's part of how they found me,” Ressler confirmed. “And that's how Liz found Reddington after Gordon Ambrose took him. They tell me it only really works when the person they're trying to find is conscious, though – and it works best when they know that person, too.”

“I see.” She laughed and rubbed a hand across her face. “I suppose other kinds of mental talents shouldn't surprise me too much, since I already know they can alter memories, hide themselves from view, and make a person do what they say.” Then she grew serious. “That last one – Ressler, has she ever done that to you? Or would you even know it if she had?”

He clenched his jaw and looked away, knowing as he did so that she would take that as the answer it was. “Once, without my consent,” he admitted at last.

She muttered something under her breath that sounded like Farsi. “Can I expect similar treatment, then? Because I don't know that I can be as forgiving of that as you apparently are.”

“I didn't just sit back and take it!” he snapped, looking up at her. “It was once, a long time ago, when I figured something out and she wasn't ready to explain it to me. This was all still new to her. So she … she made it so I had to keep it to myself. I've made it clear several times since then that I'm not okay with what she did, and that I'm not okay with anything like that ever happening again.” He took a deep breath. “And she still feels guilty about it, too.”

Samar met his eyes for several seconds, then inclined her head again. “Very well,” she said. “I think I understand. But you specified that was without your consent. Does that mean you gave her permission to tamper with your mind at another point?”

Now acutely self-conscious, Ressler said, “There's a safeguard she and Reddington put into place for members of their organizations, so we can recognize each other even if we've never met – or know if someone is pretending to be part of the other dragon's organization when they're not.” He scratched his neck. “Liz mentioned this last night. They wouldn't have forced it on me, and I can't say I like to think about it, but it does make sense.”

“Right,” she said.

The two of them were quiet for a while. Ressler hadn't really thought about how all this might look to another human who had never known about the existence of dragons before. Trying to look at it from Samar's point of view, he wasn't sure she would be able to see what made it worthwhile. “Look, you know Liz,” he said finally. “You've known her since before this whole dragon thing got started. She didn't ask for all of this, but she's trying to make the best of it, and do some good. That's why I decided to join her organization. I'm not going to tell you what you should do, and like I said it's a huge decision that requires a lot of thought. And I'm sure you have more questions for Liz, too. But that's why I decided the way I did.”

Samar was silent for another minute. Then she smiled, a genuine smile. “Well, I appreciate your perspective and your honesty. You're right: it's good to be able to talk to someone who's been where I am.”

“Glad to be able to help,” Ressler said, returning her smile. “And for what it's worth, I think you'd make a fantastic addition to the team, and I know Liz agrees.”

“Thank you.” She smiled again, and stood up. “I'll see you tomorrow.”

~


	6. Chapter 6

~~~~~~

Two days later, Samar came into the office Liz shared with Ressler to inform them that she agreed to be hired. “And you can ask me to actually be involved – I have to admit I'm too curious about all this to miss the opportunity to see what it's like. But I reserve the right to choose how and when I do act. I already have enough different bosses.”

“That's fair enough,” said Liz. “I'm not wild about giving orders to my friends.”

Samar nodded. “Good. Oh, and before we do whatever it is that's required in order to protect me, I want to know exactly what you'll be doing to me.”

“I'll tell you.” Liz thought back to the kind of ceremony she and Ressler had been through. She had the feeling it made sense to do basically the same thing with Samar, making her only the second member of Liz's organization to pledge so formally. (Although she had already been thinking that Whitney might actually want to make that pledge, too.) “We can talk again after work, if you're free.” The good thing about going through this a second time would be that she could probably do it without Red's interference. She was pretty sure Ressler could be the witness.

But that seemed to be that, for the time being. She told Red later that Samar would, in fact, be joining her organization. He congratulated her, and offered her the use of the same house and property they had used for Ressler. “I'll have Dembe send you a copy of the pledge. Unless you want us to be there.”

“I think I've got it,” she said. “But thanks.” She hesitated. “Red, is this totally crazy? We can't just expect to have two of my colleagues in the know now, and have everything still be all right. I mean, not that it was even all right before this, obviously.”

“Are you saying you want to wipe Samar's memories, after all?”

“Of course not,” she said.

“Then my advice would be to allow things to progress as they will, for now,” he said. “However, I do agree that this should serve as a wake-up call of sorts. We can't allow ourselves to get too comfortable with the status quo, much as this arrangement has been beneficial for us.”

Liz nodded. “I guess. As long as...” She cleared her throat. “As long as whatever comes next doesn't involve you disappearing, either to some secret government prison or just in the wind.”

Red smiled. “Avoiding the former won't be a problem.” He met her eyes for a few seconds. “As for the latter, Lizzie, while I can't discount the possibility of disappearing by choice, I can assure you I would not choose to do so without informing you.”

She raised her eyebrows. That was not exactly the reassurance she had been looking for. But just outside the Post Office wasn't really the place to have a detailed discussion about this, either. “Anyway. I'm guessing I'll want to use the property this weekend.”

“I'll make sure it's ready.”

~~~~~~

“Ressler, did Samar happen to take you up on your offer to tell her your perspective?” Liz asked, as they waited in her apartment for Samar to show up, to discuss the next steps.

“Yeah, she did,” said Ressler.

“Don't worry, I'm not planning to quiz you about everything you talked about,” said Liz. She chewed her lip. “I'm just... I'm going to ask her to give almost the same pledge that you did. And I'm just hoping...” She trailed off.

Several emotions passed over Ressler's face. “I guess you could show it to her beforehand, if you're worried.”

“That's not really how it's supposed to work,” Liz said. As she understood it, part of the point of the experience was that the person pledging wouldn't know the entire content of the pledge beforehand. Ressler's response didn't fill her with confidence, though. She remembered that she had absolutely been nervous before asking him, but somehow it hadn't seemed like quite as much of a game of chance. This time, even though she and Samar were friends, she didn't feel like she had nearly as much of an idea of how the other woman might act.

“Ah,” said Ressler. He looked like he wanted to add something, but there was a knock just then.

Samar didn't stay as long this time, since she had told them she had dinner plans. But Liz kept her word and told her as much as she could about the ceremonial part of hiring her. About the mental protections she would give, Liz was blunt. If Samar couldn't agree to those, there was no point in moving forward. “Other than that,” she said when she had described them, “I'm not going to read your mind or hypnotize you or anything. I mean, I guess there's a chance I would if it would save your life, but –”

“I understand,” Samar said. She sighed. “Well, I guess it's necessary. Ressler told me a little about what your enemies are capable of.”

Liz winced. “Yeah.” Then she cleared her throat. “So are you available to make this official, this weekend? Like I said, it's just one overnight. We could be done Sunday afternoon.”

“Fine. It sounds like it's better to do this soon. And as I said before, I am still curious to know more.”

~~~~~~

When the key moment came – when Liz read her first part of the pledge, and handed Samar the paper for her to read hers, there was a pause. Samar looked between Liz and Ressler for a number of seconds. She was clearly taken aback by the strong wording, and, with a sinking feeling, Liz began to wonder if she should have talked to Red about what to do in case Samar refused. But then the other woman took a deep breath and swore her loyalty as written.

Liz finished her part, and Ressler witnessed it. Then Liz smiled. “Thank you, Samar.” She reached out a hand, and the other woman shook it.

“Congratulations,” said Ressler, and somehow the serious way he said it made Liz blink back tears. Then he grinned. “If I remember correctly, this next part's a lot less formal. I don't know if Reddington has the bar stocked as well as he did last time, but I wouldn't mind finding out.”

“I'm betting he does,” Liz said.

“That sounds promising,” said Samar. As they reentered the house, though, she turned to Liz. “Now that I'm really in, is it out of line for me to ask you about Reddington?”

Liz met her gaze. “It's not out of line. I would probably have told you soon, anyway. Reddington is my father. I'm assuming that answers your question.”

She looked surprised, but not overly so. “Yes,” she said thoughtfully. “That explains a lot.”

“It's not a secret to most dragons in this part of the world,” Liz added. “Maybe I'll tell you more about that tomorrow morning.” They had reached the kitchen, and she went to the cupboard where they had found the drinks last time. “But for right now, I think we should take advantage of the fact that Red seems to count expensive champagne and a variety of liquor as a basic necessity for a one-night stay.”

“We definitely should,” Ressler agreed.

“My vote is for champagne first,” Samar said, “while we can all still appreciate the subtleties of its taste.”

~~~~~~

Liz slept in without an alarm the next morning. Even so, when she got up and checked her phone to find that it was past nine thirty, her head still ached a bit from the alcohol they'd enjoyed last night. She made sure to start off the morning by drinking a lot of water. If anyone needed to have a clear head for the day's events, it was her.

When everyone had eaten breakfast and gotten ready, Liz told Samar, “We're going to be hiking a little ways out this morning. I think there are water bottles in the pantry.”

“Where are we going?”

“No specific destination,” Liz said. “Just far enough out that I can stretch my wings without attracting attention.” It was perfect weather for it – for her, anyway.

Samar took that in. “Is this Reddington's land?”

She nodded. “We should have it to ourselves, unless he decides to show up.”

She had to remind herself not to walk too fast on the hike out to the clearing she had in mind. Neither Ressler nor Samar were in bad shape, but the summer heat wasn't as kind to them. She didn't even get thirsty until they were almost there. Even with the prospect of having to get into Samar's mind briefly, soon, Liz's spirits couldn't help but lift. In summer, especially, she found that she wished she could spend at least a few hours every day outside, in dragon form. Any trace of a hangover from last night was gone by now.

“Okay, it looks like there's enough space here,” she said, breaking the silence that had lasted for most of the trip. “You both might want to stand back.” When she was sure they weren't in the way, she transformed.

From her perspective above both of her friends, she saw Ressler shoot an open-mouthed Samar a sympathetic grin. “Yeah, there's no kind of preparation that makes it easier to believe your eyes, I can tell you now.”

_Well, you have a few minutes to practice believing, or whatever,_ Liz told them both. _I'll be right back._ She wasn't going to skip the chance to fly. As she took off, she felt their amazement.

Mindful that they were waiting for her, Liz kept her flight short despite the perfect conditions. What she wanted to do was to spend the whole afternoon out here. But that wasn't why they'd all come. So, a few minutes later, after she'd expended enough effort that she was slightly winded, she landed again. _Not too overwhelming?_ she asked, when she'd folded her wings.

Samar shook her head, although it looked like more of a gesture of astonishment than a response to her question. “Uh, I don't think so.”

_That's a good sign,_ she said. _Like you already know, that was kind of the easy part._

Her expression of wonder faded, and she frowned. “Yes, of course.”

Liz had gone over this with Red one more time before they had left for the farmhouse, to make sure she had all the steps exactly correct. It was essential that nothing be off script for the second part especially, or the entire point of the protection would be lost. She knew it was going to be unsettling for all three of them – her, because even when it was for a good cause she didn't think she'd ever not hate meddling with her friends' minds, Samar of course because it was being done to her, and even Ressler, because as a result of having been through this himself, part of this process would be a blank to him when whole thing was over. _Are you ready?_

Samar took a deep breath and let it out. “I suppose I have to be.”

_I'll do the mental block first,_ she told her. _If you wouldn't mind coming a little closer, so you're in front of me..._ Samar swallowed and did so. Liz bent forward somewhat to stare into her friend's eyes. In this form, it took even less effort to go into her mind than it would have in human form. Once she was there, she whispered, _Just relax, Samar. This will be over in a minute._ Then she focused on the block she wanted to put in place. It went to a very specific part of Samar's mind. Liz carefully avoided looking at anything while she was there.

_Okay,_ she said finally. _That's good._ She didn't release Samar from her gaze yet, but she withdrew slightly. _Now I'm going to tell you what we talked about before, about the sign and countersign for identifying trustworthy members of my organization and Red's._

Samar nodded. Liz felt Ressler's uneasiness, but tried not to be distracted. She went on. _You're going to remember this when you need to know if another person is actually trustworthy. Whenever you're not in that situation, though, you'll forget. Do you understand?_

“Yes.”

Liz thought carefully of the mixture of obscure references to their colorations plus random yet almost logical-sounding words that Red had come up with. _If you need proof that a person claiming to be in my organization or Red's is telling the truth, you'll ask: How many blocks are in the city?_ Liz paused. _That is the exact question. No variation. And the response has to be this: There are twenty-nine, but the primary is cardinal._ She paused again, and noticed with an uncomfortable jolt that Ressler had recited the countersign along with her. At least she had confirmation that it worked for him. _Remember, it has to be exactly that response, using just those words. All right?_

“I understand.”

_Good. If either of these phrases aren't used correctly, you can't trust the person you're talking to. If they are used correctly, you can trust the person, though neither of you will remember exactly what you said. Now, when I let you go, you'll only remember that we had this conversation. You won't remember the details._ She relaxed her influence and Samar blinked. _Okay. We're good._

“If you say so,” said Samar. Ressler had a similarly puzzled expression.

Liz's wings twitched. She needed them all to move past the awkwardness of this moment, so she said, _There's one more kind of protection I can give you – but it's just advice._

“All right. This is something to do with withstanding interrogation, correct?”

_That's right._ She told Samar the same thing she and Red had told Ressler: that if Samar were ever to be captured by a dragon and interrogated, she needed to have a memory ready to immerse herself in. If her mind could be occupied as fully as possible with this memory, an interrogator would have difficulty trying to force her thoughts in another direction. _This isn't perfect, unfortunately, but it should give you enough time while we find you, if the worst should happen._

“Just any memory?”

_As long as it's clear enough for you to really relive it,_ said Liz.

“I, uh, can give you some tips about that if you want,” said Ressler. “And I can tell you how well it works.”

Samar turned to stare at him. “Because this has happened to you? When?”

“Remember when David Kent's people captured me? Well, he's a dragon. One who doesn't like Reddington,” said Ressler.

Liz could still see the way Ressler had looked when she had found him in that dark dungeon of a room. Even though Kent's aunt Anna Marie had promised she and Red wouldn't have any more trouble from him, Liz knew the next time she saw the man she would be hard pressed not to want to hurt him as badly as he'd tortured Ressler. She huffed out a breath. _And he thought Ressler would be an easy target. Which he wasn't._

“I'll have to hear the whole story sometime,” said Samar, giving Ressler an impressed glance. “And I will remember the advice.”

_Hopefully you'll never have to use it,_ said Liz.

After a moment, Samar craned her neck to look up at her. “Well. I was going to mention that it's almost time for lunch, but I also have an idea that you'd like to fly some more before we leave.”

Liz would have grinned if she could have. _How did you know?_

“That, I have no trouble understanding,” Samar told her, and she smiled faintly. “If I were you, flying would be all I'd want to do.”

_You've got that right._ She backed up a few steps and turned so that her wings wouldn't hit her friends, and then took off again. There was a pocket of extra warm air just above where she had been standing, and she circled easily, coasting. Nothing compared to this.

But she was hungry, too, so she knew Samar and Ressler must be getting impatient. If she had been alone or with just Red, she would definitely have preferred to hunt. Since she wasn't, though, the sooner they started back to the house, the better. So after just a few minutes, she came in for a landing again. Then she changed to her human form and stood up.

“Okay, I have to ask: how do you still have your clothes?” Samar's eyebrows were raised. “I didn't have the presence of mind to think about it after Reddington's demonstration, but now I realize he still had them, too. How the hell does that work?”

Liz laughed, and Ressler joined in. “I honestly have no idea. It's convenient, though.”

They made their way back to the house. The morning had gone well in spite of the less pleasant parts. Liz decided Red was right – for now, she would take things as they came.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading! There's still more to come in this series.


End file.
